“The State will pay 128.5 million euros, under the program of the economic and social development fund (FDES), through Natixis, in the form of a loan for the benefit of the company Arc France” , is it indicated in the Official Journal. According to the decree, dated July 28 and signed by the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, “the loan will be paid by Natixis on behalf of the State according to the terms described in the loan contract between the company Arc France and Natixis”, without further details concerning the financial situation of the company.
Based near Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais), the Arc International group employs some 7,800 people, including 5,000 in France. It markets its products under five main brands: Luminarc, Arcopal, Cristal d’Arques Paris, Arcoroc and Chef&Sommelier. On its site, the group indicates that it produces “every day 4.1 million articles” and in 2021 achieved a turnover of 740 million euros.
Already several public financings to its credit
Last December, the glassmaker announced that it had reached an agreement with public and private partners “on an amount of around 45 million euros to meet (its) financing needs”, including a loan of 16 million euros from the State and the Hauts-de-France regional council. “This new contribution will cover our cash flow needs and will also allow us to continue to invest,” Arc’s president Nicholas Hodler told AFP at the time, explaining that investments of 60 million euros were planned for 2022 “for the production tool, the environment, safety”.
Arc International announced in September 2021 that it was looking for new funding, temporary and “not necessarily public”, to deal with logistical and software problems. This announcement had aroused the amazement of Agnès Pannier-Runacher, then Minister of Industry, who had mentioned “order books filled to the brim”.
The group had benefited in 2015 from a bridge loan from public authorities, then from a loan of 30 million euros in 2019, as part of a financing agreement of 120 million euros. A public authority loan of 108 million was also granted to it in 2020 as part of the health crisis, according to its president. In 2017, Bruno Le Maire’s visit to the Arc factory was his first outing as Minister of the Economy. He had recorded the payment of 35 million euros, a symbol of his desire to save this jewel of tableware.